What if you could find out about dozens of diseases, all at once, from just one tube of your blood? It might happen soon, with proteomics and the search for wellness chip. In this episode, we talk with scientists at Boulder’s Somalogic, Dan Chan, developer of the proteomics based OVA-1 ovarian cancer test, Quest Diagnostic VP of Business Development Nick Conti, and Stanford Geneticist Mike Snyder (for an extended version of the interview with Mike Snyder, click here). Special thanks also to Boulder playwright Len Barron for reading the poem, The Blind Men and the Elephant.

We look at the health effects of saturated fat and red meat with one of the world’s leading scientists in the field – Ron Krauss. His recent studies show that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates INCREASES heart disease risk. But combining high saturated fat with moderate carbs and then adding red meat — think cheeseburger on a bun — is yet another story. For the extended version, go here.

This is an extended interview with Niwot Beekeeper Tom Theobald about three new studies that have recently been published regarding the ways that neonicotinoids harm bees. The studies include one from Purdue, and two from Europe, and all three indicate that these new pesticides are causing more harm to bees than previously thought.

The KGNU Science Show, How on Earth, has won the prestigious 2011 Colorado Broadcast Association Certificate of Merit for Excellence in production in the category, “Best News Special or Public Affairs Program,” competing against other Denver Metro area noncommercial stations that include KCFR, Colorado Public Radio and KUNC, the college-sponsored radio station at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. This year, How on Earth was second only to KCFR’s “Colorado Matters,” which is produced and hosted by staff at KCFR. The KGNU science show, How on Earth is created, produced and hosted entirely by a volunteer team that currently includes Beth Bartel, Ted Burnham, Breanna Draxler, Tom McKinnon, Susan Moran, Joel Parker, Jim Pullen and Tom Yulsman. Congratulations, Science Show Team! Many thanks for a job well-done! – Shelley Schlender, How on Earth Executive Producer

For our annual Spring Pledge Drive, we feature a book about race, religion and DNA. The book is The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess, by Jeff Wheelwright. It’s a story about a beautiful young, Hispano woman in the San Luis Valley of Colorado who one day finds a pea-sized lump in her breast. Her name is Shonnie Medina. She is both Spanish and Native American – and the Spanish side of her family has been in the San Luis Valley for many centuries, farming, ranching, for the most part devout Catholics, often proud of their Catholic Spanish heritage. We learn that Shonnie is a carrier of a potentially deadly condition, because her DNA includes “the breast cancer gene” that increases the risk of breast cancer, in some cases, by 80%, while also increasing the risk of other cancers, including some in men. It’s a mutation that is over a thousand years old, and surprisingly, the version of this mutation that Shonnie carries is sometimes known as a “Jewish” cancer. For more, here’s Shelley talking with The Wandering Gene’s author, Jeff Wheelwright.

This is an extended version of an interview the KGNU Science show, How on Earth broadcast on February 28th, 2012 about radiation clean-up efforts for Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power plant. This interview features Steve Rima. He’s Vice President of Radiological Services and Engineering at AMEC, in Grand Junction, Colorado. He’s been working in Japan on offsite cleanup of 500 square miles near Fukushima that were evacuated and must be cleaned up before residents can move back. Rima’s company is assisting with that cleanup. He says that he has been there several times in the last few months. In this interview, Rima speaks with How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender, via Skype.

This is an extended version of the KGNU Science Show, How on Earth. It features Greg Frost, a scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder and with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He’s on the team led by Gabrielle Petron which has been studying leaks from natural gas production. In this extended interview, Greg tells us about natural gas wells in Colorado that are leaking twice as much methane and benzene into the atmosphere as official estimates have indicated. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Benzene is a carcinogen. Let’s listen in now, as Greg Frost tells How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender what their study of leaking methane from gas wells found.

Snowshoe Hare Faces Uncertain Future (start time 6:35). They don’t get much cuter than bunnies. One of the cutest of them all is the snowshoe hare. It’s elusive, and well camouflaged, so you may well never have seen one. To survive, these hares change their coats with the seasons – white in the snowy winter and rusty brown in the summer. So now, some hares’ fur turns white before the snow covers the ground. Think what it’d be like to be naked in public, an easy meal for eagles and other predators. Whether these fragile hares can evolve and adapt to their changing homes fast enough is a question some biologists are studying hard. Hillary Rosner, a local science journalist and author, wrote about the plight of the snowshoe hare in the current issue of High Country News and now talks with How on Earth’s Susan Moran.

Cubelets Robotics (start time 15:00) is an award-winning modular robotics kit created and made in Boulder. The concept is simple: you take these magnetic blocks and snap them together to make an endless variety of robots with no programming and no wires. You can build robots that drive around on a tabletop, respond to light, sound, and temperature, and have surprisingly lifelike behavior. But instead of programming that behavior, you snap the cubelets together and watch the behavior emerge like with a flock of birds or a swarm of bees. To find out more, How on Earth’s Shelley Schlender talks with Modular Robotics Design Director, Eric Schweikardt. Cubelet theme song by Blorp Corp.

We celebrate 20 years of How on Earth, featuring the 1st ever KGNU science show, 20 years ago, including Bucky Balls, Electromagnetic Radiation and Cows, Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, and along the way, we give updates on current science issues, including Tom McKinnon talking about applications for Bucky Balls (Fullerenes) today, a conversation with CU Electrical Engineer Frank Barnes, who is one of the world’s most sought-after experts on EMFs, Southwest Research Institute Astrophysicist Joel Parker gives an update on space telescopes, and CU Science Journalism professor Tom Yulsman talks about an issue NOT on the radar 20 years ago — global climate change. We also share information about tonight’s Denver Cafe Sci, with Brian Hynek, about “Mars: Are We Alone?” Special thanks to How on Earth original producers Sam Fuqua and Jeff Orrey for being here as part of the show.

Support KGNU

How On Earth is produced by a small group of volunteers at the studios of KGNU, an independent community radio station in the Boulder-Denver metro area. KGNU is supported by the generosity and efforts of community members like you. Visit kgnu.org to learn more.